Sydney FC Duo In Final Olympic Qualifiers

Sydney FC stars Andrew Hoole and Alex Gersbach have been called up to the Olyroos squad for the AFC U-23 Championship in Doha next month.

Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar has named a 23-man squad for the tournament in Qatar from 14-30 January, which is the final round of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games.

It’s the first time Gersbach has been selected in the Olyroos squad which improves his chances of representing his country at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

“Obviously representing Australia at the Olympics would be a huge honour for me,” said the 18 year old.

“First we need to perform well at this tournament and qualify, while on a personal level I will need to prove my worth to the coach as we have a strong squad.

“However I’ve no doubt we will go to Qatar with plenty of confidence.”

Added to the inclusions of Hoole and Gersbach is former Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis as well as fellow Socceroos Chris Ikonomidis, Josh Brillante and Adam Taggart.

The also includes overseas-based starlets Daniel de Silva and Mustafa Amini as well as 12 players from the Hyundai A-League.

Defending Hyundai A-League Champions/Premiers Melbourne Victory has five players in the squad with the selection of Thomas Deng, Giancarlo Gallifuoco, Scott Galloway, Jason Geria and Connor Pain testament to the pathway created by Victory coach Kevin Muscat.

"We have put together an exciting squad that includes some players with Socceroos experience and also illustrates the strength of the Hyundai A-League and its position as a true pathway for national team footballers,” Vidmar said.

“The squad contains 12 players from our national competition and the A-League clubs and coaches should be congratulated for the part they play in developing these players.

“We have taken the group through an important journey with qualifying, camps and friendly matches but this is a step up in class that they have to take in their development as international football players.

“We head to Qatar for a tough tournament but we have a good group of players and we’re confident we can qualify for the Olympic Games.”

The Olyroos will head to Dubai for a seven day camp before the opening match in Group D against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 14 January at the Grand Hamad Stadium. The Olyroos also play Vietnam (17 January) and Jordan (20 January) with the top two teams progressing to the quarter finals.

The top three teams will qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Football Tournament.